Prep Parents' Handbook
Welcome to Abingdon Prep School. We are delighted that you have chosen our school for your child and are very much looking forward to welcoming your family to the Abingdon Prep School community. We hope you will find the information set out in this document helpful in preparing for your child's start at school. 1 Welcome School life School life revolves around form teachers, pupils’ houses and Other Half activities. Pupils are divided, according to year group, into Pre-Prep (Reception, Years 1 and 2), Middle (Years 3, 4 and 5) and Senior (Years 6, 7 and 8) sections. Settling ln Our main priority is to get your child settled into life at school as quickly as possible. Your child's form teacher is your first point of contact for any questions you may have and they will help your child to settle quickly into their new routine. All new pupils are allocated a class buddy to help them settle in during their first few weeks with us. School Houses When your child starts school, they will be placed into one of our four houses: Dragon, Griffin, Phoenix or Unicorn and they will remain in this house for the duration of their time at Abingdon Prep. The house system enables children to mix across age groups from the very start. Each House is led by a Head of House - a teacher designated to those pupils and opportunities for them to work together with younger and older pupils across the school. There are house cups for sports, performing arts and for cultural and academic activities, providing plenty of opportunity for healthy inter-house competition.
2 Communication Central to the success of your child’s time at Abingdon Prep is a strong relationship between home and school. Your child's form teacher is your first point of contact and is the key worker for your child, supported by our teaching assistants. Website Plenty of useful information can be found on our website, including our calendar, details of our parents’ association, the JPA, and our lunch menu, not to mention news stories about what our pupils have been up to. The Weekly Mailing Each Thursday during term time, parents are emailed our password protected Weekly Mailing which contains important information about forthcoming events at school (usernames and passwords will be provided to parents separately). Please do read this every week and let us know if you aren’t able to access it. Should you ever have any concerns or minor issues, these can often be dealt with at welcome in the morning. Please pass messages to the teacher who welcomes the children at the gate. Alternatively please email your child’s class teacher directly. They will respond as soon as they can. For a longer discussion, it is best for parents to make a separate appointment, which can usually be arranged around the beginning or end of the day. Abingdon Prep News Our termly school magazine provides a snapshot of the wide range of activities our children have enjoyed throughout the course of the previous term. Photographs and Social Media As already mentioned, news stories are published on the school website and shared via social media channels including Instagram and Facebook and this is an engaging way for parents to keep up to date with all that their children are doing. As part of your joiner pack, we ask parents to complete a media consent form to enable us to include your child in our social media, marketing and publicity.
3 The School Day Pupils should arrive from 8.15am in time for registration at 8.30am. Children can be dropped off at our Early Birds Club from 8am, at no additional cost. Parents are strongly encouraged to check the school calendar which can be found on the website as there are occasional Saturday fixtures which children will be expected to attend. Saturday school If a child arrives late or needs to leave school early for any reason, it is very important that they sign in and out of the school office so that we know the whereabouts of all children at all times. Arriving late or going early from school Children in Years 3 to 8 finish school at 4.10pm and have the option of going straight home, doing Other Half activities or having supervised prep study from 4.15pm to 5pm. At 5pm, they may go home or go to After School Club (at an additional cost) until 6pm. End of the day Our bus service is available for children from Year 1 and above. We offer a number of routes which help families to safely transport their children to and from the School. For information on routes and fares, or to book, please visit the website. Bus service
Medical Information Children who are unwell should stay at home and not come into school. If a child is unwell, parents should email their child’s form teacher and the school secretary ([email protected]) by 8.30am for each day they are absent (or telephone the school office on 01865 391570). If a pupil is absent without notification, the school secretary will telephone parents to establish a reason for absence. We request that children who have sickness or diarrhoea remain off school for 48 hours after their last symptom. If your child has a highly infectious disease e.g. chickenpox or scarlet fever, please keep them off school and email the medical team ([email protected]) and your child’s form teacher at the earliest opportunity. 4 There is a school nurse on duty throughout the school day. Based in our small, friendly medical room, care is offered to children as a result of an accident, injury or minor illness. As part of the joiner pack, parents are asked to complete a form detailing their child’s medical history - please supply us with as much detail as possible. If there are any significant changes to your child’s overall medical condition at any stage during their time at Abingdon Prep, please inform our school nurse via email so our records are up to date. Healthcare Pastoral staff run a listening service which is available to all pupils who wish to talk about anything which may be worrying them. Listening service The nurse can administer medications, including paracetamol, antihistamine and those prescribed from home, such as antibiotics, once parents have completed the medicines form. Medicine should be brought to the nurse at the school office so that it can be stored safely. We do ask that any Pre-Prep child prescribed with antibiotics stays off school, completing two days of the course before returning. The nurse also keeps named emergency medication including inhalers and adrenaline autoinjectors and will provide continued support to children with longer term health needs such as diabetes and asthma. Medication Illness
5 Calendar and Holidays Attendance Holiday dates are published well in advance and parents are asked to book holidays during these times. In line with the latest Government directive, we are unable to authorise holidays in term time, unless there are extenuating circumstances. In such instances, consent must be granted by the Head - please email [email protected] and copy in your child’s form teacher and section head. School calendar, timetable and diary The school calendar is available on our website. It provides details of all activities for the following term including sports fixtures, trips and events. It is subject to change so we recommend parents check this regularly. In the first week of term, your child will bring home their timetable which should make it clear what lessons they will be doing each day. They will also be given a Prep Diary - this is used as a two way communication tool between home and school for everyday matters. Your child will write down information about music lessons, prep etc. and staff may also include messages to parents within it. Parents are asked to check the diary regularly, signing it at the weekend to ensure prep is completed on time. It will be checked on a regular basis by their form teacher.
6 Clothes must be smart, clean and well cared for. Hair should look smart. Bleaches or dyes that are in contrast to a child’s natural colour are not permitted. No earrings, bracelets, studs, chains, necklaces or rings are permitted. Shirts should be tucked in at the waist, with top buttons done up and ties worn correctly. Hats or caps should either be with the School's logo or plain navy/black. All items of clothing should be clearly labelled with name tapes or equivalent. School uniform and sports kit may be purchased through our uniform supplier, Stevensons. Second hand uniform sales are arranged throughout the year and are advertised in the school calendar. Dress code Uniform Labels Where to source
Academic 7 Considerable emphasis is placed on the value of pupils developing good working patterns, together with sound organisational skills. In particular children are encouraged to develop self-reliance and a sense of responsibility. Details of each stage of the curriculum are available on our website. There may come a point in any child’s time at school where they might need a bit of extra support on either the pastoral or academic front. While this can often be addressed through a differentiated curriculum in the classroom, some children do need more focused attention (in either a one to one or small group setting) whether physically, emotionally, socially or for a specific learning difficulty. If it is thought that a pupil may need additional support, academic and pastoral staff will work closely with parents to assess, plan and review so that appropriate action can be taken to support each individual child. A small team of wellqualified and experienced learning support teachers are committed to building selfconfidence in pupils, communicating with their parents, co-ordinating with teaching staff and, where appropriate, outside professional agencies (e.g. educational psychologists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists). Learning support Text books and stationery are issued generally without any separate charge. Books remain the property of Abingdon Prep School and a charge may be made for any which are lost or damaged. The following is a list of the equipment which is required throughout the school and which parents are asked to provide: Pencils Pencil sharpener Pencil case Eraser Highlighter Ruler Glue (Pritt-stick or glue pen) Set of coloured pencils (not felt tips) Geometry set (including protractor, compasses only in Year 5 and above) Simple scientific calculator (from Year 7 and above) In Years 3 and 4, children write in pencil and in Year 5, they begin to write in ink. From Year 6, their writing will be done solely using ink pen (unless advised otherwise by members of staff). Books and equipment
Homework and Reporting 8 Homework is given throughout the school to help support and consolidate pupil learning, develop healthy characteristics for learning, as well as give you an insight into their learning. The content and amount of homework is appropriate to the age group and curriculum being followed. Teachers provide parents and pupils with regular summaries of progress to help identify strengths and areas for further development. This is achieved through parents’ evenings, written reports and informal communications with parents as appropriate. Effort and achievement grades are used to provide guidance to pupils and parents of individual progress and assist staff in monitoring and tracking pupil progress within individual subject areas. The effort and achievement grades can be found here. In Years 3 to 5, grades will appear in written subject reports twice a year and may also be issued ahead of parents’ evenings in the form of an interim report. In Years 7 to 8, grades may also be used when marking regular classwork and homework when there is not an exercise specific marking criteria such as might be used with practice exam papers. Equally valuable is the ongoing dialogue with your child’s class teacher. Please do contact them for meetings as and when you need and expect the same from them in return. Reporting Pupils should write their homework in their prep diaries - this allows parents to know what their child has to do each night. As a guide, children in Years 3, 4 and 5 should spend no more than 30 minutes on homework each evening; and in Years 6, 7 and 8, no more than an hour. Teachers and parents work as a team, particularly when it comes to homework, so if your child has spent what you consider to be a reasonable amount of time on homework and has not been able to complete it, please let their teacher know. Homework
Other Half Our Admissions team will send an email with a link for parents to make choices with their children in the term preceding their start date. Whilst children are not expected to undertake all of the vast array of activities on offer, everyone is encouraged to try as many as possible during their time at school. Where activities are supplied by an outside coach, the full cost will be applied to a pupil’s account each term in arrears, regardless of the number of sessions attended. Our co-curricular programme, known asThe Other Half is an integral part of an Abingdon Prep education. Activities take place during lunch time and after school. 9
10 Sport and PE Sport is carefully tailored to each age group and focuses on enjoyment, well-being and healthy competition and all children are expected to participate (unless medically exempt). It is important that everyone feels part of a team and has the experience of competing for their school. All children from Years 3 to 8 are expected to be available for all fixtures including occasionally on a Saturday if selected to play for a school team and we ask for parents’ support in this matter. Other internal competitions, known as ‘House’ competitions, occur throughout the year in a number of different sports. Years 3 and 4: Pupils have the opportunity to play rugby, football, hockey, netball and cricket fixtures, as well as swimming and cross-country competitions. Years 5 and 6: Pupils have the opportunity to play rugby, football, hockey, netball, cricket and tennis fixtures, as well as swimming and cross-country competitions. Year 7 and 8: Pupils have a number of opportunities and we encourage them to represent our school in matches in athletics, cricket, cross-country, football, hockey, netball, rugby, swimming and tennis. In addition to the traditional sports, there are opportunities to try fencing, karate, badminton, dance, table tennis, water polo, golf and archery. Our extensive Other Half programme offers additional activities during lunchtimes and after school across all year groups. Tennis rackets and hockey sticks: Are available to borrow. Shinpads: Compulsory for football and hockey. Mouthguards: These are recommended for Year 3 for rugby, even though at this age it is non-contact. They are also needed for their hockey skills. As a child’s mouth changes frequently, a self-moulded mouthguard is fine and these are available from good sports shops. However, if you would prefer to have a mouthguard fitted by your own dentist, then that is also acceptable. Non-participation: If your child is unable to participate in sport, due to injury or illness, please email the Director of Sport [email protected] copying in your child’s form teacher.
11 Music Lessons In addition to timetabled lessons in music, children have the opportunity to have individual lessons, taught by our experienced peripatetic teachers, in the following: Alto Sax Bass Guitar Bassoon Cello Clarinet Cornet Flute Guitar Harp Oboe Percussion / Drums Piano / Keyboard Singing Trombone Trumpet Ukulele Violin If you would like to arrange individual lessons for your child, please email our Director of Music who will be happy to arrange this. Music lessons are charged per half-hour session and parents pay the music teacher involved at the beginning of each term. A term’s notice, in writing, is required to discontinue lessons. Children can also join Jazz Band, Cello Ensemble, Guitar Group and Wind Band. There are other opportunities to perform in the Junior Choir, School Orchestra and at our Christmas and summer concerts.
Code of Conduct We ask for parents’ support in implementing our code of conduct with their child. 12 Be kind, helpful and thoughtful towards others and treat them as you would like to be treated Always tell the truth Work hard and allow others to work hard too Use common sense Keep the school tidy and safe Respect your property and the property of others Look smart at all times Show good manners and respect towards others at all times and in all places Try to be the best you can be and never give up Rewards and sanctions are detailed in our behaviour policy.
13 Food and Nutrition The children are given a healthy lunch, supervised by teachers, at 12pm in the dining hall. There is always a choice of two hot dishes with vegetables or salad, jacket potatoes, fresh bread and a pudding, fruit, jelly or yoghurt. All children are encouraged to use good table manners, try all the food that is on their plate and become independent in their eating habits. If your child has a dietary requirement, please indicate this on the medical form. Lunch menus are available on our website. Meals are carefully nutritionally balanced and we teach children about healthy eating through cooking and tasting activities as well as at meal times. Snacks Parents should send their child in with a snack for mid morning break. Please make sure it is healthy, nutritious and nut-free (in line with our policy). Please do not send in fizzy drinks, chocolate, yoghurt, smoothies, sweets, crisps or fruit winders. We provide children with a breadstick snack mid afternoon. Birthdays Children may bring in cupcakes or a fruit platter (no sweets, please) to share with their form on their birthday, with an ingredients list. This will be overseen by the form teacher and given out at break time. Please remember School is a nut-free zone. Drinking water is encouraged throughout the day. Pupils should bring their own, named, water bottle, which can be filled up at any of the water dispensers. Water Read our Nutrition Policy. Further information
14 Fees Monthly payment of fees The school cannot recommend a company that administrates a monthly credit scheme for the payment of school fees. However, there are a number of companies that offer this service and parents wishing to pay in this way can apply on their websites. Payment of fees is due in advance and no later than the first day of term. Fees are fully inclusive of lunch, stationery and other classroom, musical and sporting resources. Any extras, such as for individual music lessons, trips / visits are agreed with parents before billing. Please visit our fees page for more information. Insurance schemes No reduction is made for absence but there is a School Fees Refund Scheme, which can be taken out through the school. All children are automatically covered for personal accident insurance. A medical cover scheme for pupils is also available. Further details and the policies can be downloaded from the website. If parents wish to join any of the schemes, please contact the Finance Department and arrange for the charges to be added to your termly school bill. Personal effects insurance Please note the school does not accept responsibility for, and the school’s insurance does not cover, a pupil’s personal effects such as laptop, mobile phone or musical instrument.
Miscellaneous 15 The Head enjoys strong links with a number of other Senior Schools and can advise parents on the appropriate next step. Parents are encouraged to arrange a meeting with the Head at the end of Year 5, or earlier if appropriate. Other senior schools The Abingdon Prep School Parents’ Association, known as the JPA, interlinks the three key elements of the school community - pupils, parents and staff. It is run by a committee consisting of a chair, treasurer and one or two parent representatives from each class. Its main aim is to enhance the feeling of community by running social activities throughout the course of the year. However, it also has the objective of raising funds which can be invested in a range of items for the benefit of the children which the school itself cannot always justify as routine expenditure. Parents’ Association Abingdon Prep School pupils, for whom Abingdon School is an appropriate next step, receive an offer of a place for Third Year (Year 9) at Abingdon School at the end of Year 5 at Abingdon Prep. The offer is based on the continuous assessment of each pupil during the years up to, and including, Year 5. Unlike the requirements for other Prep Schools, there is no separate entrance examination required. The offer is subject to a pupil maintaining their profile of achievement in Years 6 to 8 at Abingdon Prep. If a pupil joins Abingdon Prep in Year 6 or Year 7 having sat our entrance tests, then if Abingdon School is an appropriate next step, they will receive an offer of a place after half a term of being at Abingdon Prep. Transfer to Abingdon School All policies are available on our website. School policies If there are any questions which you feel have not been answered, please do not hesitate to contact us. What have we forgotten? We look forward to welcoming your child and you to Abingdon Prep School.
Last updated: March 2026 Now co-ed
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